Yeah, they're going right to pennies.
I didn't mention my other two bones of contention with the straight-to-pennies move - which are (1) the likely detrimental affects on dealer-provided liquidity and (2) dampened competition due to lowered margins and what will almost certainly result - fewer, larger market making firms due to consolidation. But, oh well; they wanted pennies, and now they'll have 'em ;-)
There has always been discussion within the industry over what we call the "round-lot bias," essentially a phenomenon whereby most commission structures, ticket deals, and fee schemes are disadvantaged in 100 share increments and below because of clearing costs, the T+3 (previously T+5) clearing schedule, and other factors.
But, I recently read an editorial in an industry publication (written by the president of a large clearing firm) stating that with the advent of decimalization, per share assessments are projected to replace tickets as the standard fee format for retail customers and, to reach that end, we'll be at T+1 for regular way settlement before long. So, those are positive items.
LPS5 |
